


I Didn't Know I Was Lonely (Until I Saw Your Face)

by Honestly Neptune (mypennameishidden)



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, F/F, F/M, M/M, Minor cursing, anteiku is a library, basically touka is better than these idiots, idiots getting together, lesbian! touka is better than all of you, librarian! kaneki, pining hide, poor bby is helpless, sweet enough to rot ur teeth, this fandom needs some happy fics so here u go
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 03:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4124584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mypennameishidden/pseuds/Honestly%20Neptune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide is not pining after the cute boy working in the library (but he is). And he isn't getting himself in sitcom-esque situations (but he is). And he really isn't making an absolute fool of himself all the time (but he most certainly is).</p>
<p>Alternatively: Hide and Kaneki are idiots, Touka is above this shit, and people need to stop talking in unison.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Didn't Know I Was Lonely (Until I Saw Your Face)

Hide didn’t necessarily go to the library just to see the cute library aid working in the stacks, but that was the biggest reason. He was just so cute, with his messy black hair, and his big grey eye, and his smooth ski-

Wait, Hide was not a creepy stalker! He didn’t lurk around in a trench coat offering candy to five year olds, and he certainly didn't spy on the aid without saying anything. He and the cute librarian had talked before. They had long(ish) conversations about books and classes; the fact that they didn’t read the same books or take any of the same classes was besides the point.

The biggest problem about their relationship, besides the fact that it didn’t exist, was the fact that Hide didn’t exactly know anything about his crush besides his last name: Kaneki. And, okay, maybe Kaneki wasn’t the love of his life, but Hide really liked him! He was cute and funny and he never really stopped Hide when he started rambling about something. He also let Hide cower behind him whenever Touka got mad, so in all reality Hide owed a life debt to Kaneki. That means he has to ask Kaneki out on a date! Today, in fact. They could go to the movies or a nice coffee shop, like that one place :re.

There was a small cough behind him, and Hide realized he had been standing in the middle of the stacks with his fist held in the air to symbolize his determination. Other patrons probably saw it as a symbol of his descent into insanity, though. Oops.

“Umm…Hide-san? Are you okay?” Hide flinched out of embarrassment as he turned to see the object of his affections regarding him with exasperation and, hopefully, a hint of fondness. Oh god, Hide was pathetic, wasn’t he? Kaneki probably thinks he’s the biggest dork ever that can never be dated under any circumstance. He has to pull himself together, regardless of how terrible he is. Kaneki, the actual angel, was still standing in front of him, awkwardly scratching his white eye patch (which was also weirdly cute) as Hide continued to have a needless existential crisis.

“Hey! It’s been to long. I’m fine, how ‘bout you? Actually, my demon teacher just….” he continued spewing inane nonsense as Kaneki shelved books and only listened with one ear.   
Sometimes Hide forgot Kaneki had an actual job. Where he worked. And, presumably, earned money. The library, called Anteiku, was a quaint place that also had a small cafe. There were only a few workers but it was nice. Despite the fact that it didn’t have quite as many materials as the University Library did, Hide loved it. The atmosphere itself was nice, and it was worth the extra five minutes it took to get there. 

“Hide-san, you’re disturbing the other patrons.” The “again” was left unspoken, but the way Kaneki quirked his lips let Hide knew he meant it. Hide apologized sheepishly and continued to talk about how much he would like to eviscerate his history teacher, but he did so quietly, and without the violent and descriptive hand gestures. Eventually Hide also started to help shelve books, mostly because it would be really rude if he distracted Kaneki from his job without helping out even a little. Besides, manual labor might take his mind off the fact that he really wants to kiss Kaneki and maybe hold his hand or touch his hair-

Stop! That’s weird, trench coat obsessive territory that Kaneki was too good for. As Hide was once again working his way through a completely useless crisis one of the other library aids, Touka, shoved her way past the blond student and into Kaneki’s face. Kaneki, unperturbed, continued to shelve as Hide’s soul slowly began to leave his body and ascend to the ceiling. Touka was more terrifying than any twenty-page essay assigned by his sadistic history teacher. On top of that, Kaneki never moved away from their close proximity. What if the two had something going on? Touka was much too scary to date Kaneki. Hide wanted the huge bookcases to crush him.

“Kaneki, stop flirting with bunny boy over here and get to the checkout line. The manager says I don't have enough ‘social skills' to man it. That’s a load of crap,” she growled. Honest to god growled. Hide and Kaneki both flushed bright red at the flirting line, but his blood ran cold near the end of her rant. The checkout line! In the front! Away from him!

“Please don’t be so aggressive, Touka-chan. You’ll never be able to date a sweet girl like Yoriko if you keep acting so bitter.” Kaneki smiled a bit at his own pun and Hide swore he fell in love just a bit more. Touka very nearly punched him in the face before once again shoving past Hide to wherever this Yoriko girl was. Hide prayed for her safety while at the same time celebrating. Okay, he admits, he’s a bad person, but Kaneki totally deserved someone nicer than Touka. His motivations were obviously pure! He just thought someone nicer and with a sense if humor would suit Kaneki better. Maybe someone with blond hair and brown eyes, though he doesn't want to be specific.

“Hide-san, whenever you get that look something inevitably goes wrong. Please don’t tell me you’re scheming.” Kaneki laid a hand on his shoulder and Hide felt dirty and awful when he almost leaned into the purely platonic touch. Also, why is Kaneki accusing him of planning something? Hide is an upstanding citizen!

“No, no, no. Don’t worry. I would never do something like that. Anyway, so what do you recommend over here on the tragedy shelf?” Hide knew his deflection was as obvious as his dyed blond hair, and he knew Kaneki knew it as well, but it seemed to do the trick. Kaneki lighted up, his entire countenance changing in a second. This is the Kaneki that Hide was in love with, the one who smiled and glowed with life. This is how the two connected, the moments where Kaneki and Hide only focused on each other. The check out line was forgotten, and Hide was all the more happy for that. Kaneki kept talking about one of his favorite authors, Takatsuki Sen, and how their many works spoke to him. Hide listened intently and couldn’t keep the smile of his face, Kaneki was just too cute when he got excited over something. The conversation was interrupted when Hide’s phone beeped and he had to check the text message. 

911\. Come quick.  
Kimi

He yelped and gathered his stuff as quickly as possible. Kimi was the girlfriend of Nishiki, his friend in junior year, but more importantly, she was his friend. An emergency meant he had to leave at this very instant.

“Sorry Kaneki, I gotta go! My friend’s in serious 911-worthy trouble see you later!” By the time he had started the second sentence he had already been running out the door. He dashed full speed to Kimi’s dormitory, which was about seven minutes from the library if he didn’t stop or slow down. His mind raced with all the possibilities; what could the problem actually be? He always saw Kimi as the same rank as Touka, tough as nails and undeniably cooler than everyone else. Then again, maybe not completely the same, considering Touka could probably kill him with her thumb.

He raced up the steps of her building and burst through the door, war cry at the ready, but saw no one. He turned in a circle, but the dorm was small and the only area he couldn't see was the bathroom.

“Hello, Kimi? It’s me, Hide, ready to help at your command!” No answer. Hide really, really, really, really hoped he wouldn't have to go into her bathroom. But what if she were unconscious in there? Or dead? He wasn’t qualified for this level of responsibility! He heard heavy breathing behind him and he turned to see a red face Kaneki panting in the doorway. He forgot to close it again, didn’t he? Opps. 

“Hide, is your friend okay? I-I-I thought you might need some help so I followed you…..” he finished quietly. He had lost a bit of momentum from the beginning to the end, mostly due to embarrassment it would seem. He looked incredibly nervous standing there, and Hide could see he almost regretted chasing after him. 

“You followed me?”  
“You looked panicked.” he mumbled defensively. Hide seriously considered the idea that he was dead and this was, in fact, Heaven. Someone stopped Hide’s breakdown on the dorm floor by storming his way past Kaneki and forcing himself into the very small dorm. Nishiki. Annoying at the best of times, but especially intolerable when he was pissed. And boy, he was pissed.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” he growled (must of learned it from Touka). Hide stepped forward a bit in order to draw attention away from Hide, but something caught his eye. And judging by Kaneki’s expression, he saw it as well. A grocery bag, with a large box of tampons straining against the cheap plastic. Oh dear.

“Hide we need to go.”  
“Kaneki, I think we should leave.”  
“Guys, I only really need Nishi here. I didn’t mean to text you!”

It was hard untangling all the voices overlapping each other, so Kaneki took choose the simple solution by just grabbing Hide and running. Kimi and Nishiki were left behind as Hide was dragged by the wrist all the way to the doors of Anteiku.

“She accidentally typed Nagachika instead of Nishiki!” Hide explained as they fled the scene of the crime. He was embarrassed beyond belief; the combination of Kaneki (almost) holding his hand and the fact that they walked on Kimi receiving period supplies was not good for his heart. 

“Or maybe,” Kaneki replied when they finally reached the doors, “maybe she typed Hide instead of Honey Bun.” Less than five seconds later both Hide and Kaneki collapsed on the steps, laughing hysterically. In fact, Hide thought they might have stayed like that forever if not for the inconvenient exploding of Anteiku’s doors. At the epicenter of the explosion was Touka, red eyes glowing with promises of death and destruction.

“Why the hell aren’t you manning the checkout line?” Flames stood has the perfect background for Touka’s demonic fury, and Hide was completely sure that he would die there. Kaneki, bless his brave soul, scuttled away from the heap that they had fallen into and moved to stand in front of Hide, hoping to shield him from the fatal blow that was sure to come.

“There was an emergency!” Kaneki defended, holding on to the hope that she might be reasoned with.

“No shit,” she seethed, “You ran after your boyfriend like you both were on fire. Unfortunately for you, I don’t care! You have a job, idiot, and that means you can’t shove off work so you can rescue your damsel-in-distress bunny boy toy whenever he jumps.” Hide flinched as Touka charged towards them like a bull.

“Now, now Touka, no one said anything about boyfriends. But it’s a good thing Kaneki came when he did because did you know-”  
“Rabbits die when they’re lonely.” 

Kaneki and Touka interrupted him in unison. Hide distantly remembered using that phase around them one or two(hundred) times, but the joint attack was uncalled for. Touka scoffed and her backs to them, her dismissive gesture about as painful as her heated glare. She stormed back into the library and Hide decided that he would start praying from now on, as his continued existence proved that it most certainly worked. The specific deity he would pray to could be chosen on a later date.

As Touka retreated into the library completely, the two boys released a sigh of relief. First Nishiki, then Touka; Hide was starting to think that life had it out for him. Then again, seeing Kaneki laughing without care really was something beautiful. How bad could the world be if it had someone like Kaneki in it? But he couldn’t stay like that forever, he still had questions.

“So, why did you follow me?” Hide hated ruining the moment, but the question had been nagging at him ever since he had seen Kaneki at the dorm.

“Oh, no reason. I just like helping people….” Kaneki averted his eyes and scratched at his chin a bit. The hairs on the back of Hide’s neck stood up, and he knew that it was time for him to break out his amazing detective skills.

“Liar!” And with that fearsome battle cry Hide leapt up, grabbing Kaneki and spinning him around into submission. Kaneki started making shill and high pitched noises as his face turned as red as the roses placed around Anteiku. He stammered a bit, but Hide was nothing if not relentless.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Put me down!” Kaneki laughed and pleaded at the same time, trying to break free of Hide’s surprisingly strong grip around his waist. He was also trying to glare at him, but it was a futile attempt when combined with smile. Kaneki was so cute and Hide was so screwed. He put Kaneki down gently, and realized today was the day. This was the perfect moment to ask Kaneki out, regardless of the fact that their adventure played out like a sitcom and nearly ended in their deaths. He couldn’t let this opportunity slip through his fingers!

“Wanna see a movie together?”  
“I followed you because I like you.”

Hide and Kaneki both froze, struck dumb by what the other had said. Realization came only a second later, and Hide watched has Kaneki squared his shoulders, apparently having made a decision. All of the sudden, Hide’s vision was filled with one determined grey eye and then-

“Did you just kiss me on the cheek?” Hide almost yelled, a mix between shocked and panicked and confused and happy. Hide thought the permanent blush on his face was ever worse than the scar-like birthmark on his shoulder. Thankfully, Kaneki seemed to be suffering under the same affliction, if his face were anything to go by.

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Kaneki retorted, pouting at him. 

“No, idiot, you’re supposed to aim for the lips.” Hide glanced up to once again see Touka in front of Anteiku, but now she stood with one arm around the waist of a pretty girl who appeared to be giggling at their general situation. Hide laughed, bright and clear, and moved forward to follow Touka’s helpful advice.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, that happened. I tried to make Kaneki a balance between him and Haise, while still being a dork around Hide. Mostly I did this cause my friend Kendall actually labeled it 'A+'. Quality trash. Feel free to leave comments and constructive criticism, and you can find me on Tumblr at owner-of-the-ocean.tumblr.com Title is from the band the Bleachers.


End file.
